 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: moe729
Date: 2010-12-31 19:47
Hi everyone,
I've been playing percussion for about 7 years now and I decided that I'd finally play a wind instrument. I've been wanting to play clarinet for a while and I decided to go ahead and get a cheap one from Amazon for $100 (probably not the best decision). Anyway, I recieved the instrument aobut 3 days ago and I realized that it didn't come with cork grease and I don't live near, nor do I have transportation to a music store. So, I looked online and saw that vaseline could be used as cork grease.
So I used it and my instrument is still kinda hard to take apart and put together. I'm assuming that this is occurring because it's new, but I'll try putting some more vaseline on it until I can get to the store next week to get some cork grease.
My first question is: 1) Is this ok? Or should I just stop playing until I get cork grease to keep from damaging my clarinet?
I don't have a teacher as of yet. (I can't really afford one) but I am in a band with percussion as my primary instrument.
Also, I have watched numerous videos and articles about embouchure. I'm making adjustments as I go along. Next question: 2) My bottom teeth are cutting the inside of my bottom lip. Is this normal?
In addition, when I play, I have this really airy tone. You can hear the note, but there is still this lingering sound of air that's really bothering me. Question #3) Is there something wrong with my embouchre? Does my instrument have a leak? Or is my reed too hard? (I'm playing on a Rico strength 2).
Then, tonguing. Question #4) How exactly do I do this? I know the syllable to say, but am I touching the reed? Or am I stopping the air with my tongue? I'm confused. I played for one of my friends on the phone and they say that they hear my syllable, but not the note being played. She thinks that I'm double tonguing somehow.
Finally, when I go to clean out my clarinet, my swab gets stuck in the lower joint. Question #5) Should I continue to pull it through? I don't want to break my new isntrument. Or should I buy a new, thinner swab?
I've talked to some of my fellow band members who have played wind isntruments and they can't really help unless I play in front of them (which is impossible due to the holiday break).
If anyone has any advice and can help, it's greatly appreciated!
Post Edited (2010-12-31 20:04)
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2010-12-31 22:50
1. Not OK. Vaseline can penetrate the cork and interact with the glue that holds the cork on the tenon. Your corks could fall off. Do you have any lip balm or chapstick?
2. Unless you really have sharp teath, it is not normal if your setup is OK and you don't overdo the practice sessions early on -- limit yourself to 15-20 minutes a day for the first couple of weeks at least and then increase your time gradually. However, there is probably also interaction with (3).
3. It could easily be all of the above. Most likely, your reed is too hard for the mouthpiece you have. This would be consistent with the problem you are having with (2). The mouthpieces that come with most decent student instruments (exceptions: Ridenour, Bliss and, perhaps Yamaha) are usually not good for a beginner (or anyone else, for that matter). I can only imagine what you have with the instrument you bought. If it's poorly made, you might not be able to fit a reed to it. I think the least expensive of the decent student mouthpieces is the Hite Premier (under $20 + shipping at Amazon). Do yourself a favor and get one. If you can't afford it, hold off playing until you can. Start out with a Rico Royal (or Mitchell Lurie) #2s with a Premier. (Don't buy a box. You'll probably want to move up to 2.5 after a few weeks. The #2(s) you have are probably OK for the Hite.) If you buy the mouthpiece, cork grease, a swab, and some reeds from the same place, you might have a large enough order to qualify for free shipping.
4. You should be lightly touching the reed. Actually, think of it as starting the air rather than stopping it. In other words, start out with the tongue against the reed and start your stream of air. Then release the tongue from the reed to start the tone. Continue tonguing by touching the reed lightly with your tongue (saying the syllable duh or tuh). My description is approximate. A teacher would be far more helpful.
5. I don't know why it would get stuck in the lower joint if it isn't getting stuck in the upper joint. If you have a chamois or faux chamois swab, you might want to replace it with cotton or (better) silk. It's probably hard to hurt something in the lower joint by pulling a swab through. You can damage a tube in the upper joint if you try to pull a stuck swab through. Try swabbing from bottom to top if you aren't doing that already.
6. Find some money for at least a few lessons to get you started. Or see if a teacher or good student at school might be willing to give you some help. It's very easy to develop bad habits when you are starting out because you don't know the right way to do things. Those habits will hold you back eventually and become hard to break.
Happy New Year,
jnk
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Author: moe729
Date: 2011-01-08 00:23
Thanks! I'm getting some help from some people at my school. They've helped out a lot and I'm kinda starting to get the hang of it. Hopefully I can buy a better mouthpiece and ligature soon. I'm also buying cork grease and a new (better) cleaning swab tomorrow.
Anyone else have any advice?
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Author: pewd
Date: 2011-01-08 02:32
Try really hard to find a way to afford lessons with a good private teacher.
Try to work towards buying a better clarinet - cheap online clarinets can really be a nightmare.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2011-01-08 02:33
A question about your bottom teeth: Are they straight? One of my front bottom teeth overlaps the other slightly at the top, so the inside point of one of them sticks out. I've been playing for 21 years and I still have issues with my bottom teeth cutting into my lower lip (not enough to draw blood or anything, but if I play long enough, the area does get sore and I do break a layer of skin at times). Of course, I'm also guilty of biting, so be sure you aren't clamping off the reed by biting with a lot of lower jaw pressure. I'm sure I didn't describe that well, so if anyone else can explain that more clearly, please do.
As for your question about possible leaking pads, are there particular notes that play airy and some that do not? If certain notes play poorly and other are clear, you could have a leaky pad. If all your notes are airy, it could be a too-hard reed issue or not enough breath support.
Good luck
Rachel
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Author: moe729
Date: 2011-01-08 03:47
Actually, my teeth aren't straight. They're jagged the way that you describe yours. It makes my lip numb for a while. I'm not sure if it's because of my teeth or because I'm still developing an embouchure.
However, my top teeth are under an enormous amount of pressure for some reason and are sore for quite a few days after I play. Is this normal? Is the clarinet mouthpiece supposed to go under my teeth (pushing them forward) or almost perpendicular to my teeth (my teeth resting firmly on top of my mouthpiece)?
My pads don't leak. I actually made sure of that by playing on just the mouthpiece and barrel. The airy sound was coming from an error in my embouchure which I'm still correcting. (Plus I was using the wrong fingering for A....I read the fingering chart wrong....I'm new)
I'm trying to find money for lessons but until then I'll get help from a friend of mine who is an excellent clarinet player.
Thanks for your help.
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Author: moe729
Date: 2011-01-08 03:50
Oh, and the price of the instrument (as far as I can tell) hasn't made any real impact on my playing nor sound. It's a quality instrument for the price. Of course, I'll upgrade to something more advanced when I progress in my playing and of course get a job. But for right now, as a beginner, it's a nice instrument.
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